What are course reserves?
Course Reserves are collections of course related resources selected by instructors to be set aside from general circulation for student use.
Reserves are meant to allow instructors to make high demand materials available to as many students as possible.
To ensure equitable access to material, reserve items are loaned for shorter periods than general circulation items.
Instructors have the option of making items available for loan period of two hours, one day or three days.
Items available on course reserve can be searched by clicking on the Reserve tab in the Library catalogue on the Library home page. What can I place on course reserve?
- Items in the Libraries physical collections (e.g. books, DVDs, CDs, and journal volumes or maps, when an electronic version is not available through the York Library eResources)
- Course packs that are an original bound copy, supplied by the course instructor
- Materials in which the instructor holds copyright (e.g. lecture notes)
- Photocopies of course readings can be placed on reserve by submitting the York Library Reserve Submission Form with your request. You are responsible for ensuring that your copying adheres to the conditions in York’s Fair Dealing Guidelines. For more information on copying practices at York please consult York’s Copyright website.
- Personal copies of books or other items can be placed on reserve by submitting the York Library Reserve Submission Form with your request.
- Links to ebooks available via a York Library licence.
How Do I make items available for course reserve?
Each of the York University Libraries has a reserve section.
To place material on Reserve, instructors are asked to please use the online Library Course Reserve Form for the appropriate library.
- Scott Library: social sciences, humanities, fine arts, education, environmental studies
- Peter F. Bronfman Library: business and administrative studies
- Bibliotheque Frost Library: Glendon College courses
- Map Library: maps and cartographic materials for all courses
- Sound and Moving Image Library: Audio/visual materials, scores and accompanying reading material
- Steacie Science & Engineering Library: science, engineering and health
Submission Deadlines and Reserve Removal Dates
Please submit requests as soon as possible. Requests received within three weeks of the start date will be processed in sequence but may be subject to significant delays due to volume and processing time. Please ensure you indicate on reserve request if your course is ongoing so we can continue to maintain your reserve material in our reserve collection.
Submission Deadlines Removal Dates of Reserve Material
| Fall Semester | August 15th | Fall Semester | February 15 |
| Winter Semester | December 15th | Winter Semester | May 15 |
| Summer Session | April 15th | Summer Session | October 15 |
What if the York University Library does not own the item I’d like to put on reserve?
If York University does not own the item you wish to place on Reserve a personal copy of any commercially produced item can be used. Personal copies of any material along with completed forms must be delivered in person .We will also attempt to purchase books needed for course reserve.
Note re e-journal content: Links to e-journal content licensed by the Library, can be included in Moodle course web sites. For information on how to create stable web links for e-journals (and other Library licensed material), please see these instructions.